Live 4 Love

We have time for racism
We have time for criticism
Held bondage by our -ism’s
When will there be a time to love?

We make time to debate religion
Passing bills and building prisons
For building fortunes and passing judgments
When will there be a time to love?

At this point in history we have a choice to make
To either walk a path of love or be crippled by our hate

We have time to cause pollution
We have time to cause confusion
All wrapped up in our own illusions
When will there be a time to love?

We make time to conquer nations
Time for oil exploration
Hatred, violence and terrorism
When will there be a time to love?

At this moment in time, we have a choice to make
Father God is watching while we cause mother earth so much pain
It’s such a shame

Not enough money for the young, the old and the poor
But for war there is always more
When will there be a time to love?

We make time for paying taxes
Or paying bills and buying status
But we will pay the consequences
If we don’t make the time to love

Now’s the time to pay attention
Yes now is the time to love

[The following excerpt is taken from Chapter 5 of Man in the Music: An Album by Album Guide to Michael Jackson]

People often struggle with allowing artists to grow and evolve. For Bob Dylan it was considered sacrilege by many to pick up an electric guitar; for the Beatles, the shift from sentimental love songs to social statements and psychedelia caused them to lose, in some people’s minds, their initial charm and mass appeal. For Michael Jackson, the conventional wisdom meant every album post-Thriller that didn’t sound or sell like Thriller was considered a failure; this, in spite of the fact that some of his most significant and challenging work came later. Call it the curse of expectational stasis.

Still, for those who gave Blood on the Dancefloor: HIStory in the Mix a serious listen, it was an impressive record indeed. Containing just five new songs, the album is considered an artistic breakthrough by some. “His singing on the first five tracks of new material has never been so tormented, or audacious,” wrote Armond White of Village Voice. “‘Blood on the Dancefloor’ has the vitality of an intelligence that refuses to be placated…[It] is a throwdown, a dare to the concept of innocuous Black pop.” In a 1997 review, The New York Times’ Neil Strauss concurred: “There is real pain and pathos in these new songs… Jackson’s pain is often the world’s merriment, and this is probably true of his new songs, which fret about painkillers, sexual promiscuity and public image. In many of them, Jackson seems like the elephant man, screaming that he is a human being… In keeping with Jackson’s darker mood, the music has grown more angry and indignant. With beats crashing like metal sheets and synthesizer sounds hissing like pressurized gas, this is industrial funk… Creatively, Jackson has entered a new realm.”

In the gritty, haunting “Morphine,” Jackson tackles a subject he never had before: drug addiction. To a relentless, industrial funk beat, the singer lashes out in visceral bursts of anger, aggression, and pain. “Is truth a game daddy,” he screams out at one point. “To win the fame baby/It’s all the same baby/You’re so reliable.” The rage and disappointment, combined with its ear-assaulting sound (music critic Tom Sinclair described it as “alternating Trent Reznor-style sturm und clang with Bacharachian orchestral pomp”), make for a jarring listening experience, particularly for those accustomed to the breezier melodic pop of Off the Wall and Thriller (though it should be noted that songs like “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and “Billie Jean” were already beginning to uncover the complexity, paranoia and pain represented in these later tracks). But “Morphine” is best viewed as an experiment — both sonically and lyrically — in representing the experience of physical/psychological pain as well as its temporary release via narcotic pain relievers like demerol and morphine (both of which Jackson has been reportedly addicted to, on and off, since the early Nineties).

This experience is also brilliantly conveyed in the song’s form: About mid-way through the track, the grating beat subsides, symbolically representing the pacifying effect of the drug. “Relax, this won’t hurt you,” Jackson sings soothingly from the perspective of the drug.

Before I put it in
Close your eyes and count to ten
Don’t cry
I won’t convert you
There’s no need to dismay
Close your eyes and drift away

Demerol
Demerol
Oh God he’s taking demerol
Demerol
Demerol
Oh God he’s taking demerol

He’s tried
Hard to convince her
To be over what he had
Today he wants it twice as bad
Don’t cry
I won’t resent you
Yesterday you had his trust
Today he’s taking twice as much

Demerol
Demerol
Oh God he’s taking demerol
Demerol
Demerol
Oh God he’s taking demerol

These verses are perhaps some of the most poignant (and tragic) Jackson has ever sung. Beyond the literalness of the drug itself is Jackson’s persistent yearning to escape from pain, loneliness, confusion, and relentless pressure. In this brief interlude he beautifully conveys the soothing, seductive, but temporary release from reality. There is a sense of pleading, of desperation, before the high abruptly ends, and the listener is slammed back into the harsh world of accusations and anguish. Sputnik Music described this musical sequence as a “moment of absolute genius.” The song, written and composed entirely by Jackson, is one of his most experimental and brilliant creations. It is a confession, a personal intervention, a witness, and a warning.

[Note: This analysis of “Morphine” was written before Michael Jackson’s death. It becomes all the more tragic given reports that narcotics like demerol and morphine may have contributed to his passing.]

(Copyright by Joseph Vogel, from Man in the Music: An Album by Album Guide to Michael Jackson)

nickholmes:

*applauds*

Straight porn would NEVER tolerate one of their leading male actors doing a gay scene just for kicks. Any straight actor who would do that would never work with the major studios again. Yet gay porn actors do this all the time because gay porn isn’t about being gay. It’s about being straight or pretending to be straight. It’s about not being seen as effeminate. Don’t believe me? Ask gay performers who don’t top to explain why they don’t bottom. The internalized homophobia is overwhelming. And remember, this is from gay men not straight men.

Not a day goes by where I don’t see images of straight sex or someone in the gay porn industry tweeting about how great pussy is (using pussy as that’s how it’s described). A lot of this is because so many straight men do gay porn so gay porn has become watered down. I’ve seen more images of nude women since watching gay porn. I wonder if straight men see images of gay sex all the time when they’re reading straight porn blogs. Don’t think so. They wouldn’t stand for it so why should gay men? Gay men are constantly being told that being gay isn’t good enough. Being gay isn’t normal. Being gay is okay, but being straight or porn bisexual is so much better. You’re only gay because you haven’t met the right woman. It’s one thing when this comes from anti-gay bigots or g4pers. It’s another when it comes from gay men or an industry that caters to gay men.

I like being gay. I like everything about it: the touch of a man, his cock, his ass, the way he smells, the way gay sex feels, and the way I feel around a man. I adore it. I don’t want to dilute it. I don’t want to see it as less than because it isn’t. It’s who I am. I am not gay because I hate women. Yes, the idea of sex with a woman disgusts me. The disgust is a result of having straight SHOVED IN MY FACE all the time. Most women aren’t bothered by that statement because they’re disgusted by certain sex acts as well. Women are more sensible when it comes to sex. Men not so much. While straight men are allowed to feel disgusted (as long as they’re not using that disgust as an excuse to remove our rights), gay men are constantly being told that we’re women haters or heterophobic. No, I’m gay. I’m not someone who feels the need to talk about pussy or sleep with women to prove I’m a psuedostraight guy and be part of the in crowd. I don’t want to be straight just as straight guys don’t want to be gay.

• If you would never talk about the joys of butt sex to a straight man, why do you feel it’s okay to talk about pussy to a gay man? The consideration for someone’s sexual identity should go both ways.
• If straight porn refuses to have the fantasy killed, why should gay porn constantly destroy the fantasy by reinforcing the notion that being gay is something you can change by meeting a good woman? (see my post about g4p where I touch briefly on the homophobic publicity surrounding Shifting Gears for ex.)
• When a gay porn performer does a straight scene, they always insult gay sex, say how a pussy is so much better, and gay sex is much more disease ridden. Don’t believe me? Use google. I’ll give you a headstart. Read Arpad Miklos’s interview on The Sword about his straight scene. Can you imagine a straight porn performer insulting his straight fans like that? Neither can I.
• Only in gay porn so some companies start off scenes by having the men talk about how much they love pussy. Sean Cody is great at that. 2minutes of pussy talk will go by before the straight guys can have unsexy, acrobatic sex. (won’t call it gay sex as that would be an insult to proud gays who don’t feel the need to talk about pussy just to have sex).
• I’m sorry if I’m bothered by “Gay” men who sleep with women. I am. I can’t help it. It’s judgmental, but when you’re bombarded with images of straight sex, films showing that gay men sleep with women all the time, being told you’re a pervert for being gay, the last thing you want to hear is “gay” men telling you how great pussy is. What is wrong with wanting gay porn or discussions with gay friends to be free of images straight sex?

I just want one week where being gay is about being gay and that’s seen as a good thing. Where being gay is seen as enough. Where I’m not told that I should try pussy or that straight sex feels so good. Don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Note. My friend Chris wrote this on his blog and I sincerely love him for it.